Film distribution and marketing research

     My partner and I were interested in learning how films were distributed since there are so many different ways to distribute, such as the following: theaters, DVD, digital downloads, streaming, and many more. We decided to do some in depth distribution and marketing research on the film " The Purge" because of how murder is a common ground between this film and our film. "The Purge" is about how the government has sanctioned a 12-hour period in which any and all criminal activity is legal.

     While researching, I found it surprising that it cost more to market "The Purge" than to actually produce it, costing less than 5 million to produce and around 20 million to market. Before doing any research, I never even thought that a film would have more than one distributor, but I discovered that "The Purge" actually had several distributors, such as Universal Studios, Waylen Group, Veronica, Direc TV, United International Pictures, Solar Entertainment, Synca, and many more. To summarize, "The Purge" was distributed through theaters, DVD, and streaming.
     In general, movies are beginning to be released in different ways now. Companies are deciding whether or not they should shorten the time that their movie is being played in a theater since most movies make 95% of their sales within the first 3 weekends of being out in the theater. Now that people have the option of watching from the comfort of their own home through streaming companies such as Netflix, less people are going to the movie theaters than in the past. This change might also cause a change in the way that movies continue to be distributed in the future.